View full sizeDoug Beghtel/The Oregonian/2002JoPa Northwest Grill is shutting its doors after nine years on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.

JoPa Northwest Grill is shutting for good this weekend after nearly a decade serving Italian-inspired dishes along Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.

But owner Joe Rapport says the location will reopen soon -- perhaps by September -- as the second outpost of his expanding Joe's Burgers concept.

JoPa's location was never ideal, Rapport said by telephone Wednesday.

"We're actually in Southwest Portland," Rapport said. "But of course people in Portland think we're in Beaverton, and people in Beaverton think we're in Portland."

Still, the restaurant developed a loyal customer base, lasting nine years with their pizzas, pastas and affordable "10 under $20" wine section. In a 2002 review, The Oregonian gave JoPa a B- grade, praising the finger-licking appetizers but faulting more ambitious entrees as uneven.

The new Joe's Burgers will actually be a "Joe's Burgers & Bar," with televisions, table service and an expanded menu with pizzas -- a holdover from JoPa's menu -- and some Tex-Mex fare. It's a departure from the first Joe's Burgers location, a 250 square foot kiosk in the Bridgeport Village mall.

"It will be a place to come in and watch the Timbers game, Rapport said. "I would have loved to have had an event for the Women's World Cup a few weeks ago."

Rapport says the restaurant will close on Saturday. They'll ditch the tablecloths, slap on a new coat of paint, and hopefully reopen as Joe's Burgers & Bar in two to three weeks. Rapport expects to retain much of the JoPa staff.

Rapport says he hopes the 9,000 square foot space, with its ample private dining and party areas, will become a destination for students from Jesuit and Wilson high schools, especially sports teams celebrating wins.

Rapport, along with his wife, Ginger, and business partner, Pat Kearney, also own JoPa Catering, which will continue, 50 Plates in the Pearl District, and a private cafeteria in the Weiden + Kennedy office, Sideplate, is a 50 Plates spinoff, Rapport says. A JoPa cafe in Hillsboro's Tuality Hospital was sold in February.

Rapport plans to open a third location of Joe's Burgers downtown later this year, but a location has yet to be finalized.